When a Yard Needs A New Look

Posted on 19/08/2024 by Grumpa Joe

A couple of days ago, I took a break from writing and sat on the patio, enjoying the shade and the birds and just thinking. I stared at a tree at the far end of the space, and my mind kept telling the gardener in me that several branches extended too far over the roof of the house. I thought to myself I’m going to have to trim four branches off that tree. Two of them are scraping the shingles on the roof, another one is headed for the roof and will touch by next year, and the fourth makes the tree look out of balance. The following morning I awoke and sat at the kitchen table having breakfast. Lovely got up came out of her bedroom and said Oh my God! What happened. She looked out at the patio and it looked a little like a mini tornado had come through during the night. Three of the four branches I thought needed to be cut, were on the ground. The falling branches raised all kinds of hell with Lovely’s potted flowers which were scattered throughout the yard. All I could think of was that I missed going to church the Sunday before and the Lord sent me a warning. I went to church this Sunday.

After seeing the tree with all those branches missing, I decided it isn’t worth keeping. I’m hiring an arborist to cut it down. It is time the yard got a new look.

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A Super Satisfying Word

Posted on 17/08/2024 by Grumpa Joe

Yesterday I typed a final word on the last page of my book: END

Now comes the next step: writing a prologue and a synopsis. I had to look up both words to determine if I understood them. The synopsis is a two-page, single-spaced effort describing the story in third person present tense. It took me ten years and 91500 words to tell, and now I have to give them the Readers Digest version. What is strange is that they want to read the synopsis to get interested in reading the whole thing.

I assume my first book submission has failed, as I have not received a contract yet. A company steeped in automation and AI would also have an automated rejection letter, but I am still waiting for a notice. The lack of news tells me to move on to another adventure. This BLOG may be it.

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Checking In

Posted on 15/08/2024 by Grumpa Joe

It seems like forever ago, I wrote that the reason I stopped blogging is because I am trying to finish my book. I am still trying. I can’t seem to get to the end in a way that makes sense. Of course, I could drop an atomic bomb in the story, which could make sense, but I’m not that desperate yet.

By the way, you can begin looking for this book anywhere that sells fine books. BAC-British American Colonies. If you find one, let me know how it finishes, I can use some help.

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Why I Stopped Blogging

Posted on 07/07/2024 by Grumpa Joe

I’ve been so involved in completing my second book, which I began in 2014, that I have stopped posting. This story is totally the opposite of the one I submitted to a publisher last month. The first called Space Rod is loaded with sex, while BAC doesn’t spend any time on sexual matters at all. Space Rod deals with grief and impersonal sexual relationships. This new story is based on the premise that George Washington was killed during the Revolutionary War and the thirteen colonies which extended to the Mississippi River never got any larger.

The world was very different because there wasn’t a United States of America. Consequently, there was never a Louisiana Purchase, and Texas remained its own country. Texas expanded into the Mexican domain and stretched up to Canada. Spain was left with Mexico, Arizona, New Mexico, California, Oregon, and Washington, and Hitler won the war in Europe. My head spins with all the possibilities that exist in storytelling. Hopefully, I’ll complete the manuscript before the end of Summer, and return to Blogging.

I am obsessed with finishing this goal because my time on this earth is shortening rapidly, and there is so much I still want to do. I first began writing Space Rod in 2013 and then switched to BAC-British American Colonies in 2014, thinking I’d finish them both. Then Peggy developed dementia, and my life turned into taking care of her. Peggy has been gone for five years already and I don’t have that as an excuse any longer. It is time to put on my big boy pants and do the job.

I have pledged not to do any Intarsia or gardening until I submit BAC to a publisher. If one, both, or none get published, my goals will change accordingly based on my desire to sell stories.

That is my story, and I’m sticking to it.

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Horses & Folk Art

Posted on 15/05/2024 by Grumpa Joe

For several years now, I have wanted to build a piece of folk art known as the whirligig. I began the year by telling myself I would not stop writing until my book is finished. Then, the words slowed to a crawl. It was time to begin building a whirligig. For the past two months, I have taken a multitude of baby steps to complete my first piece of folk art. I call it Spenser and Mary. It actually works but requires a pretty stiff wind to drive. I tested it with a house fan in my shop and am satisfied that it will also work in the outside atmosphere.

I am disappointed that I could not attach a working video of the whirligig to this BLOG post. Each time I tried to transfer the short video, an error message appeared telling me “Sorry, but this file type is not allowed.” I think Apple has a major problem.

Filed under: Aging, Art, Biography | Tagged: , | 2 Comments »

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